Court Awards N1m Damages Against FG Over Crackdown On RevolutionNow Protesters

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos and presided over by Justice Maureen Onyetenu, on Monday awarded N1m against the Federal Government over the disruption of the August 5, 2019 #RevolutionNow protest in Lagos by the Nigeria Police.
The court awarded the N1m in favour of a Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, who said he participated in the protest and was among those tear-gassed by security agents.

In addition, court also ordered the Nigerian Government to tender a public apology to the applicant in three national daily newspapers.

The nationwide protest was convened by rights activist and publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, who was arrested and detained by the Department of State Services on August 3, 2019 and only released on December 24, 2019.
Justice Maureen Onyetenu while ruling on the matter, declared that the disruption of the peaceful protest by the Nigerian Government through the police was “illegal, oppressive, undemocratic and unconstitutional”.
The trial judge further ruled that the Nigerian Government deprived the protesters of their right to peaceful assembly and association in violation of sections 38, 39 and 40 of the 1999 constitution.
The judge specifically condemned the mass arrest, harassment, tear-gassing and clamping into detention of the protesters.
Ogungbeje had prayed the court to award N500m as general and exemplary damages against the Nigerian Government, the DSS and the Attorney-General of the Federation, but in her ruling, Justice Onyetenu only awarded N1m.
Justice Onyetenu also upheld the defence of the DSS that it was not involved in the disruption of the protest in Lagos.
In the affidavit, which he filed in support of the suit, Ogungbeje said when he was co-opted into the #RevolutionNow protest, as a lawyer, he checked the constitution and found that it was lawful.
He however said on getting to the take-off point of the protest in Lagos, he met agents and operatives of the respondents, who barricaded the venue of the peaceful protest for good governance in Nigeria.
According to Ogungbeje; “I was tear-gassed by agents of the respondents and the peaceful protest was forcefully disrupted by the respondents.
“I have been denied my fundamental constitutional rights of peaceful assembly and association by the respondents without cause.”